Sam Jackson leaps on The Jumper

Jackson to star, Doug Liman to direct the sci-fi thriller

It’s official: with something like nine projects lined up over the next two years, Samuel L Jackson is the hardest working actor in Hollywood.

Next month you can witness him fumbling around a fuselage on the hunt for a pack of slithering assassins in Snakes On A Plane but Jackson is also set to go sci-fi next year for Bourne Identity helmer Doug Liman.

Liman’s first stint in the big chair since Mr & Mrs Smith is taken from the pages of a Steven Gould novel, The Jumper, which tells the tale of a young lad who finds out he has the ability to teleport. The kid uses his powers to track down a man who he believes killed his mother but his gift also attracts the attention of the US government.

Uncle Sam has signed to play the NSA agent on the trail of the jumper and will be joined on set by Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell, Teresa Palmer (The Grudge 2) and Tom Sturridge (Vanity Fair).

The flick, which the producers hope will be the first part in a trilogy, will be shot all over the globe, taking in New York, Toronto, Rome and Tokyo.